P&G to resume SK-II sales in China
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-10-24 14:13 Procter & Gamble Co. plans
to resume sales in China of its SK-II skincare line within weeks, ending a
one-month suspension, after Chinese regulators stated they were safe to use, the
U.S. firm said on Tuesday.
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SK-II facial products
are displayed at a department store in Shanghai.
[newsphoto]
| "We feel it's the right time for
us to resume sales in China ...We're talking of a matter of weeks," said Charles
Zhang, spokesman for P&G in China.
The firm suspended Chinese sales of the skincare line in late September after
the country's quality watchdog raised concerns about its safety. Those concerns
had been resolved, Zhang said.
The skincare products, including whitening agents, facial creams and
sunblocks, are manufactured at a factory in Japan and sell in 14 countries,
including the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and
Australia.
P&G's decision came after the watchdog and the Ministry of Health said on
Monday that trace levels of potentially harmful substances found in the products
did not pose any health risk, Zhang added.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine,
which previously said it had detected chromium and neodymium in some SK-II
products imported from Japan, declined to comment on Tuesday.
The two metals are banned for use in cosmetics in China. Chromium is
carcinogenic and can cause eczema, while neodymium, which is used in magnets,
can cause eye and skin irritation.
Concerns similar to those in China had also been raised in South Korea, where
food and drug authorities said early this month they had found no health risk
related to the products.
Top South Korean retailers such as Shinsegae Co. Ltd. said they would resume
selling the products that had been cleared from their shelves in mid-September.
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